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Serratore Scores First Pro Goal, NHL Playoff Updates

In just his second professional game, former Gophers forward Tom Serratore celebrated his first professional goal on Wednesday night for the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL. The Colorado Springs, Colo., native gave his squad a 3-2 lead in the second period as the Phantoms claimed a 5-4 shootout win over Syracuse.

Even more interesting, Serratore's former Gopher teammate and current Phantoms defenseman Mark Alt set up the goal for the forward, who joined Adirondack on Monday following Minnesota's Frozen Four run. Adirondack is 2-0 since signing Serratore to an amateur tryout contract.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs kicked off on Tuesday with three Gophers in action for their respective NHL squads -- Thomas Vanek (Montreal), Paul Martin (Pittsburgh) and Alex Goligoski (Dallas).

In an offensive battle between the Canadiens and Tampa Bay, Montreal came out with a one-game lead after a 5-4 overtime contest. Vanek tallied a goal -- his 15th playoff goal and 21st point in 37 playoff games -- midway through the third period to put the Canadiens up 4-3. The Lightning would tie the game less than two minutes later, but Dale Weise scored the winner for Montreal at 18:08 of overtime. Game Two of the series is set for Friday at 6 p.m. CT.

Meanwhile, Martin tallied two assists in Pittsburgh's 4-3 come-from-behind win over Todd Richards' Blue Jackets. Down 3-1 early in the second, the Penguins rallied off three-straight goals to take the lead in the third period. Martin, who finished with a game-high 23:51 of ice time, helped start the rally and capped it off by forcing a turnover and setting up the deciding goal for Pittsburgh. In his 68th playoff game, Martin now has 32 postseason points. Game Two of that series is set for Saturday at 6 p.m. CT.

In the third playoff game of the night, Goligoski tallied a game-high 28:39 of ice time in Dallas' 4-3 loss to Anaheim. Game Two of that series is set for Friday at 9 p.m. CT.

Up Next

Five Gophers will take the ice on Thursday for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nick Leddy and Chicago play Jordan Leopold and St. Louis tonight at 7 p.m. CT on the NBC Sports Network while Erik Johnson and Colorado face off against Keith Ballard, Erik Haula and Minnesota at 8:30 p.m. CT on CNBC and FOX Sports North. Johnson and Haula will be making their NHL playoff debuts.